Tally Marks and Mending Hearts
by thedarkonewithabox
Summary: When someone falls in love, a black tally mark appears on their forearm. When the person they love dies, the tally mark becomes a scar. Emma Swan thought she would finally get her happy ending, until her boyfriend dies, leaving her with a tally mark scar. During her trip to London, she finds herself with a new black tally mark-only centimeters away from her older tally mark scar.
1. Chapter 1

When her alarm clock woke her up at 6:15 AM, the only thought running through Emma Swan's mind at the moment is how much she wants 30 extra minutes of sleep. Emma thought she deserved it. Anyone who stays awake past midnight to pack for a trip to London deserves 30 extra minutes of sleep...right? Nope. Not according to Mary Margaret Blanchard, anyways.

"Emma!" yelled Mary Margaret. "You have 5 minutes to wake up before I wake you up myself."

Emma kissed those 30 minutes goodbye. As much as she would love to sleep in, she does not want to be woken up by Mary Margaret, her best friend, who believes singing like a Disney princess is the appropriate way to wake someone up. Emma got out of bed, making enough noise against the floor to let Mary Margaret know she was awake and made her way to the bathroom. Once she finished brushing her teeth and showering, she noticed Mary Margaret peek her head through the door out of the corner of her eye. Emma raised her eyebrows.

"Just making sure you're awake," said a relieved Mary Margaret. "Now hurry up, please. We need to be at the airport soon and I really don't want to miss this flight!"

"Right, because missing this flight means less time with your freaking Prince Charming," Emma muttered as she started brushing her hair.

"Did you say something, Emma?" Mary Margaret said with raised eyebrows.

Emma blushed, not realizing Mary Margaret had heard her. "Sorry…"

Mary Margaret gave Emma a sad, yet understanding look and left the room and Emma hastily put her hair in a ponytail and followed her out.

Emma really had nothing against Mary Margaret's boyfriend, David Nolan, who was currently studying abroad. In fact, Emma saw David as the brother she never had. 2 years ago, Emma would have been ecstatic that Mary Margaret started dating David. However, by the time they started dating, "love" was a forbidden topic in Emma's mind. "Love" was what left Emma with a broken heart and a 4 centimeter long, horizontal scar on her forearm. So one could see how accompanying her best friend on a trip to visit her boyfriend only made Emma bitter.

While they were eating breakfast, Mary-Margaret flipped the TV on. The first thing that was on was a show about a man who lost his girlfriend from a skiing injury and was left with a scar on his arm. Just. Like. Emma's. As the man described his story, Emma felt a wave of déjà vu pass over her. She suddenly found herself remembering how shocked she was when she saw that the black tally mark on her forearm. Then she felt a wave of grief when she remembered how fast the black tally mark turned into an ugly scar. Mary Margaret glanced over at Emma and immediately hit the off button on the TV remote.

"That's enough of that." Said Mary Margaret harshly and went back to eating her breakfast. Emma, however, had completely abandoned the bagel in front of her and let herself wallow in her thoughts.

* * *

As Emma and Mary Margaret made their way towards their taxi, Mary Margaret seemed to notice a troubled expression on Emma's face.

"Emma, are you okay?"

Emma sighed and plastered on a smile. "I'm fine."

"You're thinking about Neal, aren't you?"

"No."

"Emma..." sighed Mary Margaret

Emma, who said nothing, reached for the car door and yanked hard.

"Emma, please talk to me. I'm your best friend, you can tell me anything. Let me help."

Emma snapped. "You're right, Mary Margaret, I'm not okay. I'm pissed. My boyfriend, the only person that I allowed myself to open up to, got into a car accident and died. Now, I'm going with my perfect best friend, to visit her perfect boyfriend who is probably going to be my perfect best friend's perfect husband soon. So yeah, excuse me for being bitter."

"You think David and I will get married soon?" asked Mary Margaret, clearly not fazed by Emma's outburst.

"Mary Margaret!" exclaimed Emma while putting the bags in the car.

"Alright, I'm sorry, just hear me out, okay?"

Emma slowly nodded and got in the car. Mary Margaret took a deep breath and said, "I understand that you're still upset about the accident, but I think this trip to London will really help you. Whether it is being in a relationship or going skydiving into a dolphin tank, you deserve a happy ending." While Emma appreciated her friend's kind words, deep down she knew that a neglected orphan like herself has no chance at a happy ending. If anyone needed proof, all they would have to do is look at the 4-centimeter scar on Emma's forearm.


	2. Chapter 2

Emma survived the 12 hour flight while only suffering from a stiff neck and a few knots in her back. Mary Margaret, however did not do as well. Thankfully, Emma noticed that her friend was looking a bit green and shooed her to the restroom. Once they reached London, any signs of Mary Margaret's air sickness was gone, replaced by a look of excitement.

"Mary Margaret, you look constipated." said Emma.

"What?" asked Mary Margaret, confused. "I'm happy, Emma. It's common for people to smile when they're happy."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I know that, Mary Margaret. I've been happy before." At those words, Emma saw Mary Margaret open her mouth, only to close it again and give her a pitiful look. Emma cringed. She hated the looks that people gave her when they found out her boyfriend died in a car accident and left her with the scar on her forearm. One could say that she's gotten over the accident. In reality, all she does is resist slapping anyone who even looks like they are about to bring the topic up. For a brief moment, Emma looks down at the scar on her arm before quickly covering it back up. ' _Snap out of it, Emma!'_ She thinks to herself. Emma looks towards Mary Margaret, only to find her suitcase in its place. Alarmed, Emma looks around, and finds Mary Margaret hugging David.

"Emma!" calls David, beckoning Emma towards them. Emma takes her friend's suitcase and heads over to the two lovebirds.

"Hi, David," Emma says rather gloomily. She realizes how unenthusiastic she must sound and attempts to remedy it by giving David a bright, cheery smile. David, however, sees through Emma's facade and raises his eyebrows. The three stand in somewhat of an awkward silence until David breaks it.

"You two must be exhausted! Why don't we head back to my place so you two can rest?" He says, gesturing towards his car.

"That sounds great, David." says Emma, relieved that the silence was broken.

* * *

Emma was very polite throughout the entire drive back to David's apartment, asking David many questions about his life in London. Everyone seemed pleased at how well Emma seemed to be at making conversation, especially Mary Margaret, who seemed to be believing that her idea of traveling was working on Emma. Emma kept a smile on throughout the entire drive, but that didn't stop David from sensing that there was something off about Emma. The constant glances Emma kept giving to the tally mark on his forearm confirmed his suspicions. Even when Emma got settled in David's apartment, he felt that Emma's "well put together" demeanor was very fake. The constant glances he noticed Emma giving to the tally mark on his forearm confirmed his suspicions, and as soon as Mary-Margaret was in the shower, he decided to ask Emma about it.

"Emma, can I ask you something?" asked David, cautiously.

"I believe you already did, but sure, you can ask me another question." said Emma, attempting to joke.

David laughed, then continued. "Are you okay, Ems? I know how upset you were after Neal died. You know I'm here if you need to talk." Emma's face hardened at the mention of Neal. "Thank you for your concern, David, but I'm fine. David sighed rather loudly. "Emma, I know something is up."

Emma's eyes widened. "You do? How?" She stopped and instantly started to backtrack. "I mean, not that there is anything wrong, but what makes you think that?"

David paused for a few moments, unsure of how to say his next words. "Emma, you aren't exactly subtle when you stare at Mary Margaret's and my tally mark."

Emma froze. _Crap!_ "If you want me to stop, I will, but you can't blame me for looking at them." David pressed his lips together, looking uncomfortable. _Gotcha!_ Emma thought.

He opened his mouth to ask another question, but was interrupted by the creak of the bathroom door as it opened. Mary Margaret stepped out, and immediately noticed the tension between the two.

"Is everything okay here?" She asked, concerned.

"Everything is fine!" Emma shot back immediately. She shot David a subtle look and he immediately nodded. Mary Margaret relaxed.

"David, didn't you say we were going to meet a friend of yours for dinner tonight? What was his name again? Kilorn?" Asked Mary Margaret.

"Killian." David corrected. _What kind of name is Killian?_ "We should start getting ready by 6:00."

"Sound's great!" Said Mary-Margaret, enthusiastically. David looked at Emma.

"What about you, Ems? Feeling up for it?" _Hell no._ All Emma wants to do is get into a pair of pajamas and watch a movie, but if she declined, David would think that their conversation about Neal had gotten to her, and Emma refuses to let anyone have that kind of power over her.

"Yeah, sounds fun!"

 _Yeah right._


	3. Chapter 3

Once seated at the restaurant, Emma takes her phone one and starts to play around with it, trying her best to avoid reality. She doesn't have the stomach to watch Mary Margaret and David exchange their nauseating lovey-dovey looks. Emma just about gets through with scrolling through her Instagram feed when she hears a smooth, British voice speak above her.

"David Nolan? Is _that_ your girlfriend?" asks the the voice, disbelievingly. Emma looks up and sees a pair of electric blue eyes staring down upon her. Emma quickly averts her gaze and looks at her lap.

"Nope, _this_ is my girlfriend." David corrects while gesturing towards Mary Margaret. "Mary Margaret Blanchard."

"Well it's lovely to meet you, Mary Margaret." The man turns towards Emma. "What about you, love? What is your name?"

Emma glares at the man, and responds, "My name is Emma and I'm not your love." Emma spits the last word out with disgust.

The man smiles. "Swan, like the bird?"

"Yes, like the bird." Emma responds stiffly. "Why? Is there a problem with my name?" The man's smile fades and was instead replaced by a look of shame. Emma could feel Mary Margaret and David tense up.

"No, It's fine! Anyways, I can hardly judge you on your name when I've got a peculiar name of my own. Killian Jones."

"Oh." Emma says out loud, leaving the group in somewhat of an uncomfortable silence. Trying her best not to make eye contact with this "Killian Jones", Emma decides to study the patterns on the shirt of Killian's sleeve. It's a simple checkered pattern, but Emma can't help admiring the soft green shade they are. Her eyes follow the pattern all the way up to the end of his sleeve, where it ends in a cuff just below his wrist. His wrist, which adorned a dark tally mark. A strong surge of jealousy runs through Emma as she continues to stare at Killian's tally mark. David subtly clears his throat and Emma's head jerks up, her eyes meeting David's. Her face hardens and she tears her eyes

Suddenly, Mary Margaret spoke, clearly unable to stand the awkwardness any longer.

"David, remind me again how you two met."

From then on, there is a steady stream of chatter as David and Killian tell Emma and Mary Margaret stories of their time together while they were in London.

"So, and correct me if I'm wrong, you're telling me that you're the one who convinced David to get a buzzcut?" Emma asks Killian, disbelievingly.

"Yep. You heard me right. You should have seen the look on his face after he got it. I could have sworn he started to cry after he saw himself in the mirror." says Killian jokingly. David glowers fiercely at Killian. "Don't listen to him." David directs at Mary Margaret and Emma. "He's just a drama queen." Emma looks towards Killian, who was blushing comically. Emma rolled her eyes, feeling a sense of unprovoked irritation towards this man. Attempting to change the subject, Emma turns to David, her eyes training on the glass in front of his plate.

"Rum? David, I never knew you were much of a rum drinker." Emma states. Killian snickers.

"He wasn't until I forced a glass of rum down his throat a few months ago. After that, he was hooked."

David scoffs. "And when he said he forced a glass of rum down my throat, he literally means he forced a glass down my throat. He had me in a choke hold and everything."

"It was for your own good, mate! That beer you used to drink was as bad as goat's milk." said Killian, defensively

Emma laughs under her breath while Mary Margaret asks, "Goat's milk? Why on earth do you know what goat's milk tastes like?

"Well, love. That's a long story." Killian answers. "How about we head over to my place and I'll explain it?"

Emma internally groans. "Sounds good" David answers, raising his eyebrows at Emma. Mary Margaret shoots him a look. Killian notices this and without prying, asks,

"How about you, Swan? You okay?"

Emma inhales sharply and plasters on a sugary sweet smile. _There goes the rest of her night._

"Duh! How can I turn down a story about goat's milk?" Emma answers, jokingly.

Mary Margaret looks delighted and lets out a laugh, which slowly turns into a yawn. Seeing this sends a blast of fatigue throughout Emma's body. " _Hello, jet lag,"_ Emma thinks to herself.

"But first, I think Mary Margaret and I are going to need two of the largest cups of coffee this restaurant offers."


End file.
